New search and rescue teams moved in at dawn today, taking over from the 200 or so emergency responders who had worked all night, looking through blocks of homes and other structures that were destroyed by yesterday’s massive tornado.

At least 24 people were killed, including at least nine children, and those numbers are expected to climb.

Authorities initially said as many as 51 people were dead.

Some of the search-and-rescue teams have been focusing their efforts on an elementary school where the storm ripped off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal, as students and teachers huddled in hallways and bathrooms.

Children from the school are among the dead, but several students were pulled alive from under a collapsed wall and other debris.

The fire chief says officials are still trying to account for a handful of children who weren’t found at the school but may have gone home early with their parents.

Guests:

Ben Allen, reporter and Morning Edition host for KOSU, the NPR member station in Stillwater, Okla. He tweets @BenAllenKOSU.